rocker59
Cruisin' Guzzisti
I went on a little 225 mile ride with some friends yesterday. It's Jason's 40th Birthday and he wanted to ride to Jasper, then down to Altus for lunch. It was a beautiful day here in The Hills, though a little cool. It was 35-degrees when I left the house for our rendezvous at the intersection of AR-16 and AR-74. After topping off with gas and a few hellos, we headed for Jasper via Huntsville and Kingston. Click the Map Link, it's a really nice 66-mile stretch of Ozarks riding!
Typical Ozark scenes on AR-74:
Jason leading our four bike group between Kingston and Boxley on AR-21. He's really liking his new Triumph Speed Triple:
We arrived in Jasper around 11am, topped off with fuel and took a little break. Lots of bikes on the road today. Surprisingly, lots of Euro stuff where I normally would see only cruisers. Triumph Tigers, Triumph Sprints, Ducati Superbikes. Mine was the only Guzzi I saw on the ride...
I have no idea what Tom is showing Jason and Donna in this pic!!!
No land mines in the picnic area at the Conoco in Jasper!
From Jasper, we headed Southward towards Altus taking a really nice piece of pavement. AR-123. This is a popular motorcycle road, especially the section between Mt. Judea and Lurton. AR-123 is a "must-do" road if ever you're in the Ozarks and would like to see some beautiful curvy pavement! Map Link. There's a great place to camp at Haw Creek Falls near the mid-point of this ride.
Donna on her M750 heading down AR-123, just above Big Piney Creek:
Near the end of AR-123, we stopped at Hagarville for a quick pit-stop, 60-miles down the mountain from Jasper.
From Hagarville we were now riding in the Arkansas River Valley. Flat compared to where we'd come from. To Altus, we took US-64 through Clarksville. Map Link
Jason had picked Kelt's Irish Pub in Altus for our lunch destination. We rolled into Altus, 150-miles into the ride to find Kelt's on the main street in this little town in the middle of Arkansas Wine Country.
Tom's T-Bird Sport, my Nero Corsa, Donna's M750, Jason's Speed Triple:
Kelt's Irish Pub. It doesn't look like much on the outside, but the food and beverages are mighty fine, not to mention the interior decor. Kelt's was made sorta famous during filming of that TV show "The Simple Life". They apparently couldn't keep Paris Hilton out of this place.
:
After a nice meal, we headed back towards home. We decided to run US-71 North. It's not used much anymore since being superceded by I-540. Along the way the route also included AR-282, an old highway alignment that pre-dates US-71 and its route over the mountain between Alma and Mountainburg. We did run about 30-miles of I-40, but I didn't mind. Dean Spring Road and AR-282 were worth it! Map Link
The reason why US-71 was moved to the mountain. The highway crosses a low-water bridge over Frog Bayou after passing under the A&M railroad trestle:
The fall colors sure were nice near Artist's Point. Lot's of Leaf Peepers out, but I didn't mind. It was a great day for a motorcycle ride!
Why did I cry you ask? Well, Back up on AR-123 we passed one of my favourite spots in the Ozarks. The highway runs along Big Creek Valley between Piercetown and Mount Judea. At Vendor, there is a house I've shown pictures of in previous ride reports. I really love this old house and kinda dreamed of saving it somehow, someday.
Well, I guess I can quit worrying about it now. Someone's careless behavior has solved my problem. When I passed "my house" yesterday, there was not much more than a pile of ashes, tin, and stone. Sad, really. There aren't many 19th Century houses standing in these parts. Fire usually takes them. This house was not safe from that fate, so that is why I cried:
Typical Ozark scenes on AR-74:
Jason leading our four bike group between Kingston and Boxley on AR-21. He's really liking his new Triumph Speed Triple:
We arrived in Jasper around 11am, topped off with fuel and took a little break. Lots of bikes on the road today. Surprisingly, lots of Euro stuff where I normally would see only cruisers. Triumph Tigers, Triumph Sprints, Ducati Superbikes. Mine was the only Guzzi I saw on the ride...
I have no idea what Tom is showing Jason and Donna in this pic!!!
No land mines in the picnic area at the Conoco in Jasper!
From Jasper, we headed Southward towards Altus taking a really nice piece of pavement. AR-123. This is a popular motorcycle road, especially the section between Mt. Judea and Lurton. AR-123 is a "must-do" road if ever you're in the Ozarks and would like to see some beautiful curvy pavement! Map Link. There's a great place to camp at Haw Creek Falls near the mid-point of this ride.
Donna on her M750 heading down AR-123, just above Big Piney Creek:
Near the end of AR-123, we stopped at Hagarville for a quick pit-stop, 60-miles down the mountain from Jasper.
From Hagarville we were now riding in the Arkansas River Valley. Flat compared to where we'd come from. To Altus, we took US-64 through Clarksville. Map Link
Jason had picked Kelt's Irish Pub in Altus for our lunch destination. We rolled into Altus, 150-miles into the ride to find Kelt's on the main street in this little town in the middle of Arkansas Wine Country.
Tom's T-Bird Sport, my Nero Corsa, Donna's M750, Jason's Speed Triple:
Kelt's Irish Pub. It doesn't look like much on the outside, but the food and beverages are mighty fine, not to mention the interior decor. Kelt's was made sorta famous during filming of that TV show "The Simple Life". They apparently couldn't keep Paris Hilton out of this place.
:
After a nice meal, we headed back towards home. We decided to run US-71 North. It's not used much anymore since being superceded by I-540. Along the way the route also included AR-282, an old highway alignment that pre-dates US-71 and its route over the mountain between Alma and Mountainburg. We did run about 30-miles of I-40, but I didn't mind. Dean Spring Road and AR-282 were worth it! Map Link
The reason why US-71 was moved to the mountain. The highway crosses a low-water bridge over Frog Bayou after passing under the A&M railroad trestle:
The fall colors sure were nice near Artist's Point. Lot's of Leaf Peepers out, but I didn't mind. It was a great day for a motorcycle ride!
Why did I cry you ask? Well, Back up on AR-123 we passed one of my favourite spots in the Ozarks. The highway runs along Big Creek Valley between Piercetown and Mount Judea. At Vendor, there is a house I've shown pictures of in previous ride reports. I really love this old house and kinda dreamed of saving it somehow, someday.
Well, I guess I can quit worrying about it now. Someone's careless behavior has solved my problem. When I passed "my house" yesterday, there was not much more than a pile of ashes, tin, and stone. Sad, really. There aren't many 19th Century houses standing in these parts. Fire usually takes them. This house was not safe from that fate, so that is why I cried:
